


You Light the Spark in My Bonfire Heart

by FreyaAtterton



Series: (Never Forget) How Wildly Capable You Are [3]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Angst and Feels, Banter, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, Feelings, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hawaii, Humor, Hurt Steve McGarrett, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Protective Steve McGarrett, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Steve McGarrett whump, Whump, Worried Steve McGarrett
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24420091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreyaAtterton/pseuds/FreyaAtterton
Summary: A new adventure awaits Steve and Sophia in the beautiful Hawaiian mountains. And this adventure also involves a sweet little pup that needs their help. Sequel to (Never Forget) How Wildly Capable You Are and Just Sit With Me in the Dark. I highly recommend that you read those stories first.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett & Danny "Danno" Williams, Steve McGarrett/Original Female Character(s)
Series: (Never Forget) How Wildly Capable You Are [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686574
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, here's the next story I promised. Again, this is going to be a shorter story, probably three chapters. Beautiful scenery, deep conversations, emotions, fluff and a tiny bit of angst - this is what you can expect. I hope you'll like it.  
> I'd like to thank my beta, Phoebe Miller for the help and support.  
> Title comes from the song Bonfire Heart by James Blunt.  
> Disclaimer: no, I don't own H50. I wish.

Steve wants to meet Sophia again, he really does. So much. But he still worries that she would think he's too pushy if he asked her to meet up. She's a loner that much he has realized, a person who rather tries to fight off her demons by herself than asking for help. Yes, she might have called him last time, but that might have been a one-time thing caused by the demanding day at the court.

Danny would say it's a match made in heaven. But no, Steve wouldn't go that far. It's not about that. He just wants to help her, because she's alone and because he knows what she's going through. Mostly. It's not even a friendship, for God's sake! Not that he wouldn't want that.

But he's too afraid of scaring her off, so he decides to be careful and wait. It's damn difficult, though. He can't help texting her, asking how she's doing. She answers she's fine. Of course. Danny would say this means she's anything but fine. Danny would remind him that Steve always says he's fine, too, even when he's not.

Yeah, Danny would definitely have an interesting opinion on this whole thing – whatever it is – going on with Sophia. And Steve will tell him about her, sure. Just not yet. Because there's nothing really to tell. Nothing has happened.

So Steve waits. And when Danny accuses him of checking his phone way too often, which is so untypical of him, he denies it. Danny raises an eyebrow signaling he doesn't believe Steve but lets it go. And Steve is very grateful for that.

And then a week passes. It's Sunday morning, the weather is really nice and Steve is preparing for a fishing trip with Danny. His friend didn't want to come; he would rather stay on the island. He complained on the old, unreliable boat Steve had borrowed from a friend, complained on the weather that might be too hot, on the waves that could be too big and most of all, on this program being way too boring.

But Steve desperately needed distraction so he didn't leave Danny alone until he reluctantly agreed to come along. Steve's picking him up in 20 minutes.

And then his phone buzzes. Surprisingly, it's a text from Sophia.

'Hey, Steve. It's such a nice day and I want to try out a hiking trail you mentioned. I wondered if you want to join me, maybe? I know it's too late to ask but I thought I'd give it a try.'

Without hesitation, Steve quickly texts back. Of course he's going, no, it's not too late. The he quickly cancels his fishing trip with Danny and can't help laughing when he hears how relieved Danny sounds. His partner doesn't even wanna know his excuse, he's so thankful that he doesn't have to sail out on a godforsaken old vessel in the heat.

Nearly an hour later, Steve pulls up in a parking lot at the foot of a mountain. The trail that starts here is not really popular, even though it's beautiful. But it's a bit far from the city, so not many people venture out here. There are only a few cars in the lot.

Sophia's green Lamborghini is already there. The trunk is open and she's placing water bottles into her backpack.

Steve offered to pick her up, but she said she was already on her way. Which seemed weird, as her car is definitely faster than his, but he let it go. He has figured she likes doing things her way.

Steve grabs his own backpack and walks up to her. "Hey there."

She turns to him with a smile. "Hi, Steve. I'm really glad you could make it. I know it was a last minute offer."

"No problem, I'm happy to be here," he smiles back.

She looks much better than the last time he saw her. She looks less tense. She almost looks cheerful and she's definitely not as upset as the woman he and Danny met a few weeks ago at the beach.

"How's the car?" he asks.

"Good as new," she replies. "I guess it's a bit temperamental, like an Italian guy is supposed to be."

Steve smiles to himself. Yes, she's definitely less tense than she used to be.

He points at the trail starting at a corner of the lot. "Shall we?"

"Sure," she answers taking her backpack and follows him toward the path.

"And what are you planning to do when we reach the mountaintop? Letting the steam off?" he asks playfully.

"Are you asking if I want to do some screaming once we're there?" she giggles. "No. I didn't do that on the boat and I'm not gonna do that today, either."

"I can drop behind, no problem."

"You're not doing that. Because hiking here, taking this beautiful view in is a perfect way to get into a good mood. No negativity today," she explains and stops to take a look around.

She's right. They've been walking only for a few minutes, but the scenery around them is so beautiful that it would calm even the most stressed nerves. Lush jungle envelops them: trees and bushes in a million shades of green and bright wild flowers everywhere. There are birds chirping and colorful butterflies dancing around them. It's magical.

"Last time the ocean was just as breathtaking as this," she points out. "Of course that was beautiful in a different way, but that was just as magnificent as this place is. I think I'm starting to understand why people say Hawaii is paradise."

"It is sure wonderful," Steve answers proudly. "I'm happy to call it home."

She smiles at him and they start hiking along the trail again.

"And what about you? Is it too early to call Hawaii your home?" Steve inquires.

"I'm getting there," she says. "I mean what's here not to love? The nature is beautiful as we have just agreed, the weather is mostly great and the coffee is awesome. It's gonna take some time, but Hawaii is definitely growing on me."

"Good," he winks. "I'm happy to hear that."

And he really is. Maybe they don't know each other for long and met only like five times, but he wants her to stay on the island. First, he thought he just wanted to help her feel home and deal with her problems. But now he knows he has another reason to be with her. He likes her.

This woman has built incredibly high walls around herself, but Steve has managed to get a glimpse through them every now and then and what he has seen fascinates him. He has seen a strong, independent, determined woman who is so afraid to let her guard down. To let people see the vulnerable and kind person who also has a great sense of humor. And Steve is proud and happy that he is probably the only person on the island who has had the chance to see that side of hers. Back in her garden and now on this hike.

"I'm really sad that my parents could never make up," Sophia suddenly says breaking into his thoughts. "I mean it would have been really nice to spend school breaks here."

Steve notices that since their conversation last week, Sophia talks much more. She doesn't just answer his questions, no, she easily talks about herself.

"Maybe we would have met back then, as kids," Steve muses. "Playing at the beach, building sandcastles."

"Maybe," she smiles. Then she turns serious. "It's my parents' fault that I didn't come here when I was a kid. But it's my fault that I didn't come here once I grew up, either. I could have visited my dad."

"And he could have visited you, too," Steve reminds her. "Maybe when you were a child, your mother could prevent you from meeting him but later… he could have visited you, too."

"Perhaps he thought I didn't want to see him."

"He could have asked," Steve replies. He won't let her take all the blame.

"You're right," she says. "But he's dead now and it's me who's left here with regrets."

They walk in silence for a few minutes. Steve wants to comfort her so badly but he's been in her shoes. He knows there's nothing he could say that would offer consolation.

"Will it get easier with time?" she suddenly asks. "I mean the regrets."

"You'll learn to live with them," he states simply. Maybe he should have lied something like 'yes, you'll forget about them soon, don't worry' or he should have suggested ignoring them. Maybe he should have been more optimistic. Anyway, he can't take back his words now.

But then Sophia turns to him. "Thank you for your honesty, Steve. I appreciate it."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Here's the next chapter, this is where the real adventure begins :) I hope you'll love it.  
> I'd like to thank my beta, Phoebe Miller for the help and support.  
> And thank you for the kudos, bookmarks and hits.  
> Disclaimer: no, I don't own H50. I wish.

The view from the peak is mesmerizing. Steve didn't exaggerate when he described this trail as one of the most scenic ones on the island. However, Sophia decided to pick this one because Steve also mentioned that it was one of the least popular trails. The weather has been great, it's weekend and she supposed many people would decide to hike today but she really didn't feel like going to a crowded place. So the unpopularity of this route has been her number one reason to come here. As for the panorama, she didn't have too high expectations. She definitely didn't expect this wonderful view, that's for sure.

From the peak, she can see most of the island. But not the busy city of Honolulu with tall buildings and long highways, only the green mountains and valleys, the endless jungles with some waterfalls shining through the trees.

And of course, there's the ocean, too. Endless blue water as far as she can see.

"This is wonderful," she all but whispers. She knows it's stupid but she's afraid to speak louder as if that could break the spell and this beautiful world around them would immediately disappear.

"Yeah, it is," Steve answers beside him with a huge smile on his face.

Sophia likes that even after having spent many years on Oahu, Steve hasn't got used to its beauty and it still amazes him. Just like the sunset a few days ago, in her garden. He told her she would never get used to that, either.

"Thanks for recommending this hike," she says. "And thanks for coming with me."

"My pleasure," he replies smiling at her. "I love hiking."

"I bet. It's such a beautiful place. I guess I'll hike every weekend from now on."

"Good idea," he winks at her.

She half expects him to add that he would join her a few times but he doesn't. That makes her a bit sad but what did she think? That he would spend all of his time with her? Why would he do that?

Yes, he offered his help and took her on a boat trip and came here with her. But probably only because he feels sorry for her. Poor girl, her dad has just died and then she was kidnapped and nearly killed. She has no family, no friends so she needs some help.

With his job, Steve probably meets girls like her every day. And he's a nice guy, he's really kind so he probably takes pity on them all the time. It doesn't mean anything. It's his job to help people. As far as she knows, he might have a wife or a girlfriend. Just because he hasn't talked about it, it doesn't mean he's single.

Or even if he is, he might not be interested in anything more than friendship. Maybe not even that, he just wants to help her until she gets back on her feet and that's it. He'll move on to the next girl in need.

These thoughts make her sad, which surprises her. Why does she care? Why is it important what Steve wants from her? If he wants anything from her at all? And that brings another question: what does she want from Steve?

She doesn't want to think about it right now. Maybe later at home when she can be alone with her thoughts on her lanai. But definitely not here with Steve next to her.

"I guess it's a perfect spot for lunch," she announces opening her backpack.

He agrees and a few minutes later they have a picnic: sandwiches and cookies. Food that Sophia bought at a gas station on her way here.

"Sorry for the crappy food. It's just you know… I had decided to go hiking maybe a minute before I texted you. I didn't have time to prepare," she explains.

"Come on, this is amazing," Steve grins reaching into a big pack of cookies.

"The chef at the hotel restaurant would be shocked to see this," she giggles pointing at the pack. "He's French and not a fan of anything that is not European," she adds rolling her eyes. "Actually, I'm thinking about changing the menu. Adding local food, traditional Hawaiian dishes. Which is not gonna be easy as we have an award-winning French restaurant but I think tourists also expect local cuisine, that's why they come here, right? Sorry, I'm babbling. About stuff you're probably not interested in anyway," she says apologetically.

"It's not true. I think it's interesting and it's a good idea, Sophia," Steve answers. "It's not easy, huh? Running this hotel, I mean." Then he quickly adds: "I'm sorry; I didn't mean that you can't do it. I'm sure you're doing a really good job."

"Then you're alone with that opinion," she laughs. "I'm not so sure about it myself, either. And you're right, it's not easy. I have zero experience. In California, I worked at a marketing company, that helps a bit, but my clients were private clinics, not hotels. I need to learn a lot… Wait, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Steve asks looking around.

There's a distant sound like… whining?

"That," Sophia replies. "It's like an animal, right? An animal in pain."

They both get up and keep looking around to identify the source of the noise.

"Do you think we're in danger?" Sophia worries.

"Of course not," Steve states confidently.

But she doesn't relax. "Shouldn't we go?"

She can see Steve is not eager to leave at all, no, he wants to find out what makes the odd sound. She doesn't care, though. She would feel safer if they were on their way down from the mountain now.

Until she spots the source of the whining.

"There!" She points at a little plateau under the peak; it's maybe the size of a car. It's surrounded with massive walls of shrubs and there's no trail going down there. But in the middle of the small area, there's tiny dog looking up to them, wagging its tail, begging for their attention.

"Aww, how cute," Sophia says crouching down.

"Oh, so now you don't think we should leave?" Steve grins.

The dog is a mix of colors – and probably a mix of breeds, too. One of its ancestors must have been a Chihuahua, another one a poodle and maybe there was a dachshund involved, too. There's a red collar around its neck. The pup is jumping and running around the small place, it's obviously very happy that it has managed to catch their attention.

"Leaving?" Sophia asks shocked. "Of course not. We're helping him. Or her. " Then she looks up at Steve uncertainly. "I don't know how, though."

"Maybe we should call a medevac," he smirks.

Sophia ignores him. "The dog obviously can't come up, so we need to go down." She walks up and down along the edge, trying to find a way down.

Steve shakes his head. "Wait a minute." He digs into his backpack and pulls out a rope.

"Do you always carry that with you?" she grins.

"It's good that I had it in my bag, right? Besides, it has come handy a few times."

Steve takes a look around and picks a tree, ties the rope around it. He ties the other end of the rope around his waist and walks to the edge.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Sophia frowns. "Is it safe?"

Steve looks down over the edge and shrugs. "It's not that far."

"Hold up," Sophia says. She empties her own backpack and hands it over to him. "It'll be easier to bring that puppy up in this than in your hands."

Steve smiles and puts the rucksack on his back.

"Be careful," she says.

He winks at her and starts his descend down the steep terrain.

It takes at least ten agonizingly long minutes until Steve reaches the plateau. He takes tiny steps, holding on to branches on his way down. He slips a few times and stones fall down from under his feet. He finally arrives and the pup gratefully skips around him, licking his hands as he crouches down.

"Good dog, good dog," Steve says patting the scared pup. He takes a closer look at the puppy. "It's a girl!" he shouts up to Sophia. "She's okay." Then he checks the tag on her collar. "Her name is Daisy and here's a phone number, too."

"I'm sure her owners will be happy to get her back."

Steve scoops up the small dog and carefully places her into Sophia's bag. "Stay there, Daisy, stay in there. We're going up now," he explains to the fidgeting pup.

Sophia paces along the edge, she can't wait for Steve to be up by her side again. She shouldn't have let him go down. It was stupid. It's just a freaking dog that was dumb enough to go down without thinking about her next move. It's her owners that should be here making a rescue plan for their dog. Or she should have called some professionals. There must be someone who could help this freaking dog. She should have called 911 instead of letting Steve go down there himself.

Steve's climb up isn't shorter or easier than it was downwards. What's more, a wiggling dog on his back makes it harder. He constantly speaks to Daisy trying to calm her down but the frightened pup doesn't have any of it. Somewhere in the middle of the ascent, the dog attempts to crawl out of the backpack and while Steve is tucking her back, he loses his balance, stumbles and slides down on the hillside.

"Steve!" Sophia shouts. She can't see anything but dust everywhere. She holds her breath and prays for Steve to be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, a cliffhanger! What will happen next? Let me know what you think.  
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! So this is the final chapter of our story, I hope you'll like it.  
> I'd like to thank my beta, Phoebe Miller for the help and support.  
> And thank you for the favorites and follows.  
> Disclaimer: no, I don't own H50. I wish.

"I'm good!" Steve yells back and Sophia sighs relieved.

As the dust settles, she spots him just a little bit further from the place she saw him last, so luckily it wasn't a big fall. He sits under a smaller tree that must have broken his fall. He cradles his left hand and examines it with a frown on his face. The dog must have gotten out of the bag at some point and now nervously paces around Steve.

"Are you okay?" Sophia asks. Yes, she heard him saying he's good but there seems to be a problem.

Steve looks up to her. "I think I have broken my wrist."

He sounds so indifferent as if he's speaking about someone else's injury. Is he always like this? Is he that tough? Doesn't he feel pain? Or he just doesn't want to scare her?

Well, that doesn't work because right now she's freaking out.

"Oh, my God! What should I do? Should I go down? I'm sure I can get down there somehow," she sputters already looking for a way to go down.

"No, no, no, no. Sophia. Stay there. It's okay. Stay right there. I'll go up, no problem. It's just… it's gonna take a little longer, okay?"

He turns to the pup. "Daisy, come here, girl."

The dog whines and licks Steve's hand. He puts her into the backpack again. "I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna be that nice this time. It's for your own good, remember that, Daisy." He pulls the zipper of the bag, careful to let enough air in for the dog but leaving a much smaller opening than before. The dog whimpers and wiggles in the bag. She doesn't like the situation and Steve says some comforting words to her. Then he starts climbing up again, which is much more difficult now that he can use only one of his hands. He keeps the other one close to his body.

Sophia nearly cries in relief when Steve finally arrives. She helps him climbing over the edge and as he settles down on the ground panting, she hands him a water bottle. He gratefully accepts and takes a few sips. She just stares at him concerned and tries to convince herself that it's over. He's safe with her now.

"The dog. In the bag," Steve reminds her with a smile.

"I don't care about that damned dog," she snaps. "It's all her fault."

Steve takes the rucksack off his back, opens it and the puppy jumps out. She climbs into Steve's lap, puts her forelegs on his chest and licks his face all over. At least, she's grateful. The little bastard.

"She adores you," Sophia remarks.

It's really cute, Steve sitting there with this tiny dog in his lap. If she forgets how that little stinker caused him to fall and get injured.

"Maybe she knows I like dogs. I have one at home, Eddie," Steve explains. "He's the best."

Then Daisy steps on Steve's injured, swollen wrist and he groans.

"Okay, we're going to the hospital right now," she claims gathering their stuff.

"Relax, Sophia, I'm fine," Steve grins. She gives him a doubting look. "Okay, not fine, but I'm not in life danger. Let's call Daisy's owners. I'm sure they miss her."

Sophia hesitates but then gives him her phone. She really doesn't want to call them herself. She doubts she could stay calm and not scold them for letting their dog get away. She might also tell them how their dog put Steve into danger.

Bad, bad dog. Even though she's very adorable.

And maybe the pup is a mind reader because while Steve is making the call, she comes over to Sophia and cuddles up to her. She can't help scratching her ear. Then she pours some water into an empty plastic sandwich box and gives it to the dog. She quickly drinks it up.

"You little troublemaker," she whispers to her. "You're lucky that you look so sweet."

In the meantime, Steve ends the call. "Okay, so Daisy belongs to a 9-year old girl. She was hiking with her parents in the area yesterday. They saw a wild boar or something and Daisy gave it a chase. The family was searching for hours but couldn't find her. They have already put out notes."

"Now that you're saying it, I might have seen one of those back in the parking lot," Sophia recollects.

"Anyway, they are very happy that we've found Daisy. They're sending me their address; we could take her home right now."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Sophia shakes her head.

Steve raises his eyebrows.

"Your wrist, remember?" she reminds him pointing at his injury.

"Oh, that can wait a bit," he shrugs petting the pup. "This girl has been out here for a day now, I'm sure she wants to go home after her big adventure in the wilderness."

"Are you sure about this?" Because Sophia isn't. And she doesn't like his idea. She thinks Steve's injury is way more important than getting the dog home ASAP.

But Steve dismisses her worries and promises to go to the hospital after they drop off Daisy.

The hike down to the cars doesn't take long. Sophia insists on carrying all of their stuff. It's much less heavier now anyway. The dog is running in front of them on the trail.

"Oh, now she knows which way she should go," Sophia teases.

Once they reach the parking lot, Steve walks to his truck and opens the driver's door.

"Don't even think about it," Sophia warns him.

Steve turns to her confused and she opens the passenger's door of her car. "You're not driving with one hand." Steve opens his mouth to protest but she interrupts him. "I'm sure you could, Steve, but you don't have to."

He sighs and gets in the lime green Lamborghini. He calls out to Daisy and the pup cheerfully jumps into his lap.

~

A little bit later they successfully reunite Daisy with her family and make a little girl very happy. Then they make a trip to the hospital, where Steve receives a nice cast on his wrist.

On their way to Steve's house, he considers what he should say to Sophia once they arrive. He wants to invite her in for a coffee or something. To show her around in his house and most of all, in his garden he told her about. He knows Sophia would love it. And it would also make their day together a little bit longer, which would be so nice. But what should he say no to sound awkward or pushy?

It turns out he doesn't have to think about it at all. As they turn into his street, Sophia receives a call from the hotel. It's an emergency, a pipe break. She has to be there ASAP. So they have the shortest farewell in history and she's gone. Steve stands there disappointedly staring at the leaving Lambo. This is not how he imagined it. This is not how such a long, beautiful and adventurous day should have ended.

The house is empty. Earlier, Junior texted Steve that he would take Eddie for a run. Steve walks into the kitchen, grabs a beer from the refrigerator and walks out into the garden. He should be here with Sophia now, not alone. He sits down and stares at the waves mulling over how unfair it all is.

His bottle is nearly empty when he receives a text from Sophia.

"I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly. I couldn't even thank you for today. I had such a great time! I hope we can do it again."

Steve smiles. It's not such a bad way to end this day, either. There are plenty of hiking routes he would love to show her! He already starts ranking the most exciting treks in his mind.

Today has been just the beginning.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was it. Did you like it? I'd really love to know what you think. I'm also considering another installment in this universe, something with more action, like a case fic maybe, would you be interested?
> 
> Thank you for reading and have a nice weekend!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
